Flat panel, planar speakers have been available for many years. While the performance of such speakers has been generally acceptable, they have not been widely accepted due to their cost. Most flat panel, planar speakers utilize electrostatic transducers to transform the electrical signal into an audible signal. Such electrostatic transducers require very high voltages for their operation, and therefor require additional electrical circuitry to convert the output of a conventional audio amplifier to a signal suitable for driving the electrostatic transducer.
Thus what is needed is a planar speaker which does not require additional electronic circuitry to drive the speaker from a conventional audio amplifier.